Bohemian Rhapsody

So to be up front, I like Queen but I'm not a super fan of them. Bohemian Rhapsody is an amazing song but they're not my go to band when I want to listen to music. There are some other great hits that I enjoy but overall, I think Queen is a band I could really take or leave at the end of the day, at least they were before I saw this movie. When the trailer came out of the movie, I thought it looked cool, but it wasn't really a movie that I thought I needed to go out of my way to see. Luckily, a friend of mine wanted to go see it so we went and now I get to tell you what I think today and if my thoughts on the band have changed because of it.

So if someone tries to tell you that this is a biopic about the band Queen, they're lying. This is a story about Freddy Mercury. A huge part of Freddie Mercury's career was the band Queen. Therefore, the movie could be advertised as a Queen biopic but it's not.

The story follows Farrokh Bulsara, who would later be known as Freddie Mercury. (played by Rami Malek) Freddie is a flamboyant guy who sees a group of guys playing at a student function and says he wants to be apart of their band. So the names of the other members of the band that would eventually form into Queen are Brian May (played by Gwilym Lee), Roger Taylor (played by Ben Hardy), and John Deacon  (played by Joe Mazzello).

One thing I will make note of here is that I honestly don't know if I totally remembered all those names while I was watching the movie. I knew them from their roles in the band. The movie is so focused on Freddie, and add on top of the fact you've got a flamboyant lead singer named a ridiculous name like Freddie Mercury, the others are going to fade into the background. That's why its important to note that this is a Freddie Mercury Biopic, not a Queen biopic. These guys really fade into the background and while they build an important part to the story, you really don't know a whole lot about them. Now this didn't bother me too much, but I will say the actors who played the other band members did a good job and I would have actually really liked to see a little bit more of them and figure out who they are besides their role in the band.

What follows is a pretty standard movie about a band. You've probably seen it before. The band comes together from humble beginnings, they get their big break, they have fun doing it, then the main character gets the chance to strike out on his own and the band feels betrayed. He goes off on his own and realizes he's nothing without the family that was the band, and then they come together for a huge performance at the end.

There is more to that and it's fair to point out that the makers of this film have said they took some liberties with the story, but that's essentially the plot to this movie. I will give the movie credit, it might be the smoothest biopic, narrative-wise, I've seen in a while. Biopics are hard because people's lives don't always fall into the standard three part act of story telling. This one does. If you're a stickler for historical accuracy, this movie might bug you, but if you're just looking for an interesting look into an influential performer with some liberties taken, you're going to get a pretty concise story that might feel a little standard but is well done.

The other main part of this movie is how it delves into the personal life of Freddie Mercury. This is one of the strengths of the movie because Rami Malek does a phenomenal job give the audience a little bit of insight into a unique character from history. He does a really good job showing off his eccentricity and his relationships with different people. Again, this is where the movie does a pretty good job because there was a lot going on with this character. He's figuring out his sexuality, he's super rich but at the same time he's lonely. And all the while Rami Malek is doing a great job portraying this really interesting and flamboyant guy. Again, I've heard people complain about the historical inaccuracies in this movie. I'm not too much of a stickler on it as long as its respectful to the person, his family, and keeps me interested, and I felt like this portrayal did all of that.

 I read somewhere that the singing in this movie was done with a mixture of Malek's voice and a Mercury impersonator. That was something I was wondering throughout the film, whether it was a recording of his singing, or if it was Malek. While I wish it was totally Malek, I still enjoyed the performances in the film and they hit all the greatest hits I was talking about while maybe introducing people to some of their lesser known work.

I think probably the best part of this movie is also something they could have fleshed out a little bit more, and that's when the band is together making music and you get to see the creative process.

I really liked how they portrayed the band as a group that wanted to be something different and didn't want to do things in the conventional way. I think this view of them made me look at some of Queen's music and appreciate it a little bit more.

I think what I wanted to see more of was their creative process. There's a couple montages where they're experimenting with their instruments and sound equipment to make a really interesting sound. The scene where they're thinking up We Will Rock You is a lot of fun because it seems obvious, especially considering its such a simple song, but at the time I'm sure it was totally new to them.

And of course, probably the best part of the movie is when they're recording Bohemian Rhapsody. I would have been fine if they had carved out a good chunk of the movie of them thinking up the way to make that just the most unique 6 minute song out there. That part was a freaking blast.

My point is, I would have wanted to see more of those scenes. There's a lot to cover about Freddie Mercury, his personal life, his performances, Queen, the other band members and their lives, and the number of other ways this movie could be handled. I just wish they would have focused more on the creative process.

Another issue I had with the film is that it did feel like it dragged in some parts and could have been shaved down just a little bit. I will put the disclaimer that I did see this movie late at night so I was tired, but usually if a movie is solid, it keeps me invested and focused regardless. I think I need to give this movie another watch for sure in order to really pinpoint the moments where it slows down a lot more than it needs to, but I did feel the movie drag at times.

I also didn't really feel the triumphant ending as much as I think the movie wanted me to. That's not 100% a bad thing because movies don't always have to have the triumphant ending, but with all the talk of this movie being an Oscar contender, I think the things that will hold it back is the parts where it drags and the ending just not having nearly the big enough impact it needed.

Again, I plan to re-watch it down the road, but these are my initial thoughts.

Overall, I liked Bohemian Rhapsody. I found it funny that the movie almost felt like it was setting up a cinematic universe about 70's and 80's rock bands. There's mention of Elton John in the film and the movie started with a trailer for Rocket Man so I would find it really funny (and incredibly unnecessary) if Rami Malek made an appearance in that movie as Freddy Mercury. But the movie felt a little long, didn't focus on the most entertaining parts, and just didn't have that oomph for me to say its going to go down as one of the best movies of the year, not by a long shot. This movie did make me appreciate the music of Queen a little bit more and maybe after a second watch I will appreciate the film's impact a little more, but as it is, I'm glad I saw it, it just not a movie I couldn't live without.

Those are my thoughts on Bohemian Rhapsody, What did you think? Comment and Discuss below! You can also send me your thoughts on Twitter, @MovieSymposium, as well as send me your requests for films I should review in the future. If you follow me on Twitter, you can get updates on future movie news and reviews coming out fo this blog.

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